Paper Archives - Football Innovation Hub

08 Ago Changes in Physical and Technical Match Performance Variables in Football Players Promoted from the Spanish Second Division to the First Division

Posted at 13:32h in Paper

Summary for coaches and performance staff This study followed 97 professional players from 12 teams that earned promotion from LaLiga SmartBank to LaLiga EA Sports between 2015 and 2020. Using Mediacoach® tracking and match data, it analyzed how individual performance changes when the same players move...

08 Ago Hamstring Muscle Injury is Preceded by a Short Period of Higher Running Demands in Professional Football Players

Posted at 13:21h in Paper

Summary for coaches and performance staff This LaLiga-supported study tracked 281 professional players from seven top-tier teams over three seasons to identify what really happens before a hamstring injury occurs in a match.Across 44 non-contact hamstring injuries, the findings are clear: most of them are not...

04 Jul Does the Final Ranking Influence the Physical Performance of Professional Soccer Teams?

Posted at 13:03h in Paper

Summary for coaches and performance staff This study analyzed 34 professional teams from LaLiga SmartBank (Spanish Second Division) over three full seasons (2015–2018), using MediaCoach® and OPTA data. The aim was to understand whether league ranking and match results are linked to differences in physical performance...

04 Jul Evolution of Tactics in Professional Soccer: An Analysis of Team Formations from 2012 to 2021 in the Spanish LaLiga

Posted at 12:51h in Paper

Summary for coaches and performance staff This study analyzed more than 3,400 matches across nine seasons in LaLiga to understand how tactical formations have evolved and how they relate to team success. The results clearly show that Spanish football has shifted from uniform tactical setups to...

21 Mar Does player age influence match physical performance? A longitudinal four-season analysis in Spanish Soccer LaLiga

Posted at 13:51h in Paper

Introduction In football, age is often associated with experience, tactical awareness, and leadership. Yet, as players mature, questions persist about how much age truly affects physical performance during matches. A large-scale, longitudinal study conducted with LaLiga data across four consecutive seasons (2015/16–2018/19) provides clear evidence: Match running performance...

10 Mar Reduced Match Exposure in the Previous 2 Matches Accounts for Hamstring Muscle Injury Incidence in Professional Football Players

Posted at 12:23h in Paper

Introduction Hamstring injuries remain one of the most frequent and costly problems in professional football. Despite years of prevention research, their incidence continues to rise — about 22% of elite players sustain at least one hamstring injury per season, with an annual increase of over 4%. A...